The Odyssey of Travel

 

I would go to the Philippines way more often if it weren't for the travel. To be frank, the traveling part sucks. It starts with our location in the rural Midwest where there are no direct flights to anywhere but a few major airport hubs. If one considers the time spent driving to the "local" airport ninety minutes away and getting there a couple hours ahead of time to get checked in and through security followed by a layover of anywhere from one to several hours at the nearest major hub, it becomes quicker to just drive to the major hub. So we started our trip by driving 5 hours to Chicago Midway where we caught a flight to Los Angeles and from there, another directly to Manila.

Having flown on a dozen different airlines, I am a big proponent of flying on any airline carrier that isn't based in America. U.S. airlines are just terrible compared to just about any international airline company I have ever flown. The seats are crammed tighter together and the service is just worse in about every aspect. In this instance we flew Philippine Airlines from Los Angeles to Manila and with them, you get at least four or five more inches of legroom which is something I value being 6'2" and having longer legs (and shorter torso) than many of my counterparts. The service just can't be compared to U.S. based airlines. The food is better. The amenities in Economy are better. Generally the airplanes are newer. The list goes on. So we typically go out of our way on any journey to fly the minimum amount on U.S. based airlines and maximize the time spent on international airlines.

Still, the length of the flight is a killer. This time our longest flights were the 16 hour flight heading west to Manila and the 13 hour flight heading back east. Despite both flights being "overnight" when compared to the local time, I find it very hard to sleep on a plane. I generally always start by watching a couple movies which gets me through the first meal time and into the portion where the cabin lights are dimmed. Going to the Philippines, I would alternate between watching a movie, reading my book or simply doing the jello head bob where I never quite could fall to sleep but was unaware enough to keep my head upright. 

Looking back at the airport terminal from the top of the ramp across the street

As always, getting to the Philippines and taking that step outside is always an experience. It is a bit chaotic to my senses with all the shouting in a foreign language. One must also navigate out of the terminal, cross a four lane road where people are cuing up something I have never been able to understand, enter another parking structure where you walk down a ramp to get to the place where you can meet someone who is picking you up or catch a taxi. Fortunately my brother-in-law was just getting off work and met us there at the exit to baggage claim due to his connections with the media. He helped us push our bags across the road and down the ramp to where he had arranged two Grabs (think the Philippine version of Uber) for us and our luggage and pasalubong (three suitcases full of gifts from the U.S.) and arranged for us to all be taken to the nearby bus station where we had seats on a direct bus to Baguio.

"Direct" bus to Baguio

The distance from Manila to the mountains of Baguio in the central part of the island of Luzon is not technically all that far. It is a little over 150 miles which here in the Midwest would take me just about two hours to cover. In the Philippines, nothing is like it is here and a direct journey is closer to five hours. A lot of that is due to traffic which is insanely heavy and complicated (I'll detail that in a future post) but also because things are just done differently in the Philippines. It also doesn't help that roads are not only shared by other traffic but by roadside stands, farmers drying their rice crop, people walking, animals standing, or simply missing due to a landslide. Plus, despite being on the direct bus to Baguio, we stopped once along the road for bathroom breaks despite the bus having a working bathroom, and also stopped a few times heading up the mountain to let people off or to let others on to try and sell overpriced snack food to the captive audience. 

View from the bus as we leave Manila behind

Once at the bus stop in Baguio, my sister-in-law picked up our bags and my kids and my wife, brother-in-law and I, along with a couple carryon bags, caught another Grab to our house on an adjacent mountain ridge. Baguio is a city built on the ridges of many nearby mountains. All told, though I didn't officially count, we likely spent close to 48 hours of traveling from doorstep to doorstep. Needless to say, we were all exhausted, but happy to finally be there.

Farmer tilling rice paddy on the way to Baguio